Snap-on-cover



Jan. 3, 1950 J. D. REIFSNYDER SNAP-ON-CQVER Filed Feb. 19, 1949 6 l/llll INVENTbR. JAMES ID. R51 FSNYDER.

//// llljA Ill BY Ig/WQAM ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 3, 1950 SNAP-ON-COVER James D. Reii'snyder, Flushing, N. Y., assignor to Lily-Tulip Cup Corporation, New York, N. Y.. a corporation of Delaware Application February 19, 1949, Serial No. 77,355

Claims. 1

This invention relates to expendable closures for receptacles and more particularly, to snapon covers made of paper or similar fibrous material for use on paper receptacles having a beaded upper lip; and to the combination oi such a receptacle and closure.

Receptacles of this character are well known and are in widespread use, being variously formed and constructed and used both as cups and con tainers, each having the common feature of a lip formed by rolling or curling an upwardly extending bead of generally circular cross section on the upper marginal edge of the receptacle.

Covers for use with receptacles of this type fall into two categories, first, in which the cover may be repeatedly reused on the receptacle without destroying or distorting the cover as where the receptacle contains commodities which may be used in quantities less than the contents of the receptacle; and secondly, in which the cover is to be used but once on a container adapted for a single use, such, for example, as in the packaging of ice cream. It is to this latter category that the present invention is particularly directed.

One of= the desired features of such cover is that it be formed as a unitary, one-piece structure and be completed before it is placed in position for use; another is that it be readily applied, self-locking when in position and conveniently removable and expendable when removed; an. other is that it be compact and easy to ship, either aepaartely or when in the applied position; and lastly, that it be adapted to rapid and economical 1 production.

An object of the invention is to provide a cover for a receptacle of the above type which possesses these advantages and which may be, at the same time, economically manufactured.

The invention consists in the novel features, arrangements and combination of parts embodied by way of example in the structure hereinafter described as illustrating the preferred form of the invention.

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a receptacle with a cover therefor constructed in accordance with the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the cover cooperates with the beaded lip of the receptacle to provide secure locking en- 2 gagement therebetween, the lower portion of the receptacle being broken away.

Referring to the drawing, the receptacle is indicated in general at 5 and is provided at its upper marginal edge w th a beaded lip 6 of substantially circular cross section. No claim is made herein for the novelty of this receptacle per se since it is representative of receptacles well known in the art.

The cover is indicated generally at I and comprises a top portion 8, a depending integral flange constituted by an inwardly concave portion or bead 9 and an outwardly and downwardly flaring skirt portion it formed along and as a continuation of the lower edge of the concave portion to thereby provide a single unitary structure constructed of a single piece of flexible fibrous material, such, for example, as paper.

The concave bead portion 9 is formed by bending the blank, of which the top 8 forms the central portion, outwardly and downwardly as at H and thence inwardly along a substantially arcuate path. The flared skirt I0 is formed by bending the blank outwardly and downwardly at It and thence upwardly from a point indicated at It to form a second ply It lying closely adjacent the outer ply of the skirt Ill. The inner ply I4 is continued upwardly along the inner surface of the concave bead to a point spaced downwardly from the top 8 a distance substantially greater than one half the width (1. e., vertical extent) of the bead, the portion of the inner ply l4 disposed along the lower inner surface of the concave bead being indicated at l5. It will be noted that the inside diameter of the concave portion is greater than the diameter of the top 8 such that the arcuate portion 8 surrounds the exterior half of the lip 6 formed on the upper marginal edge of the receptacle. Further, the inside edge it of the flared flange skirt is oflset inwardly in a radial direction a distance at least half as great as said bead width, or expressed another way, at least as great as the depth (i. e., horizontal extent) Of the bead concavity, whereby the upper extremity l5 of the inner ply I4 is caused to engage the underside of 11p 8. It should be particularly noted that the inner ply ll forms in eifect a peripheral strut having its bottom edge pivotally anchored at I3 to the outer ply III and its upper free end l5 abutting against the underside of the container lip 6 for substantially less than 90 of the cross-sectional peripheral extent of said lip and preferably for only about 45. While the foregoing relative dimensions are considered preferable, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention that these dimensions may be varied somewhat and its is intended that such variations which fallwithin the teachings of the invention are to be comprehended herein.

' The cover is inserted on the receptacle by merely pressing down on the top 8 whereby the flange is expanded outwardly to permit the lip Q to become positioned within the area defined by the concave portion 9 and the intervening upper extremity I of the inner ply or strut M. It will be noted that when the cover is inserted, as is shown in Fig. 2, the upper extremity ii of the inner ply frictionally engages. and is held against the underside of the lip 6, while the concave portion 9 engages only the top surface of the lip to seal off from atmosphere the contents of the receptacle. With this construction, the cover is maintained in locked engagement with the receptacle, the upper extremity l5 of the inner ply l4 serving to perfect the locked engagement by reason of the fact that it is spaced downwardly from the top and bears only against the underside of the lip 6. When the cover is to be removed, a force is exerted on the flange skirt ID of sufficient magnitude to cause the inner ply l4 and upper extremity I5 thereof to be pulled away from the outer ply of the flange and out of engagement with the underside of the lip, respectively. The action is assured and facilitated by reason of the particular outwardly inclined strut arrangement above described. In other words, in exerting removal force on the edge l3, this pivot point and the outer ply ID are moved outwardly while the strut end i5, due to its forceful engagement beneath the lip 6, causes it to be retained against the lip and requires a forceful separation from the outer ply l0 until the structure has been distorted to the point of preventing its further practical use.

It readily can be seen that the cover described above may be rapidly and economically manufactured as a separate unit to be conveniently placed in cooperative engagement with a receptacle and that once inserted, the cover may not easily be accidentally removed. Further, the desired structural characteristics have been attained in a manner to produce a cover which is highly pleasing in appearance and which is simply and conveniently removed.

Having thus described my invention with particularity in reference to a preferred form thereof, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art after understanding my invention that furtherchanges and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What I claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:'

1. A single piece paper cover comprising a top,

and a depending flange having an inner concave portion and a skirt portion constituting a continuation of the lower edge of said concave portion, said flange having an outer ply constituting a continuation of said top and extending downwardly and outwardly and then inwardly and upwardly along the inner face of the outer ply and terminating along the inner face of said concave portion at a point spaced downwardly from said top a distance greater than one half the width of the concave portion.

2. A single piece paper cover comprising a single-ply top, and a double-ply outwardly extending skirt spaced downwardly from said top by an inner concave portion, the inner diameter of said concavity being larger than the diameter of said top and the diameter of the innermost edge of said skirt, the inner ply of said skirt extending upwardly along the inner surface of said concave portion and terminating downwardly from said top a distance greater than half the vertical extent of said concave portion.

3. A single piece paper cover comprising a single-ply top, and a double-ply outwardly flared skirt spaced downwardly from said top by an inner concave portion, the innermost edge of said skirt being oil'set inwardly in a radial direction portion, said flange having an outer ply coextensive with the full flange width including said recess and said flaring skirt and an inner ply disposed closely adjacent the inner face of said outer ply and extending from the lower edge of said outer ply upwardly along said skirt and into said recess for less than one half of the arcuate extent of said recess, and said inner ply throughout its major extend being free to separate from said outer ply.

5. In combination, a receptacle having an outwardly extending beaded lip of substantially circular cross section, and a one-piece paper closure therefor comprising a top with a depending concave flange portion substantially surrounding said lip and engaging the top surface thereof, an outwardly and downwardly flared double-ply skirt formed as a continuation of said concave portion at the lower edge thereof, the inner ply of said skirt extending upwardly along the inner surface of said concave portion to a point spaced downwardly from said top a distance greater than one half the vertical extent of said receptacle lip,

lip to maintain said closure in locked engagement with said receptacle.

JAMES D. REIFSNYDER.

No references cited. 

